Prevention and Control Research Program: Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i

Cheryl Lynn Albright, PhD, MPH

Associate Professor (Researcher), Prevention and Control Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i;
Cooperating Graduate Faculty member, Department of Public Health Sciences, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawai‘i;
Cooperating Graduate Faculty Member, Intercollegiate Doctorate in Nutrition at the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa;
Adjunct Clinical Faculty, School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
Ph.D. (Social Psychology), University of Houston, Houston, Texas;
M.P.H. (Epidemiology), University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health;
Prior to joining CRCH she was a Senior Research Scientist for over 18 years at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention, at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
calbright@crch.hawaii.edu

Publication list via PubMed

Introduction
Dr. Albright conducts transdisciplinary research spanning the fields of preventive oncology, behavioral medicine, health psychology, medicine, and epidemiology. Her research emphasizes the promotion of healthy lifestyles and the prevention of chronic diseases, especially cancer, both at the level of the individual and in community-based participatory research projects. Her community-based research addresses multiple risk factors for chronic disease via multimedia public health campaigns. Her individual-based interventions have addressed smoking cessation, changes in dietary intake, and increases in physical activity in multiethnic populations. Much of her work focuses on underserved or high-risk populations, and the development of interventions that are culturally sensitive to these populations‘ attitudes, resources, and needs with respect to making changes in their lifestyle, weight control, and the reduction of chronic disease risk.

Dr. Albright also analyzes data from a large epidemiological study to investigate differences in the prevalence of obesity in adults who report having more than one race/ethnicity (i.e., having an ethnic admixture) compared to obesity in adults who report one race/ethnicity. Obesity reflects a complex interaction of genetic, environmental, cultural, and behavioral influences, including the health consequences of race/ethnicity mixing. These analyses could help identifyindividuals who have an ethnic admixture that places them at increased risk for obesity. This line of research will investigate a range of influences on obesity in a multicultural population that will pave the way for future interventions to prevent and control obesity, improve health outcomes, and reduce health disparities in the ethnic populations of Hawai‘i.